Namgung Jinjin.
A direct descendant of the White Dragon Unit Captain.
A child whose genius-level talent had bloomed enough for even the Clan Head of the Namgung Clan to keep an eye on him.
Furthermore, he was a martial artist who went around with Namgung Jin, a direct descendant of the Clan Head, for no other reason than their names being similar.
Looking at the faces selected for the same group, he was certain.
The one who would lead this group would be him.
The bastard named Namgung Geonho bothered him a little, but since they had been in the same training center, he knew.
That bastard was beneath him.
‘But now some bastard who never even showed his face at the training center suddenly appears, calling himself the group leader.’
The bastard who was said to suffer from severed meridians.
A weakling who could not even leave his sickbed, let alone train.
While others had spent their time in bone-shaving effort, he must have lived an easy life under his mother’s care.
And a bastard like that dared step forward to grab a place for himself in a sacred occasion like this?
No matter how he thought about it, he could not tolerate it.
On top of that, the bastard had ignored Namgung Jin without regard for rank.
Even though they had gone to visit him, he had turned them away at the door without showing his face even once.
Jinjin still had not forgotten the humiliating memory of that day.
“You bastard-! I’ll break your bones!”
“…….”
He had already thrown away the thought that others were watching.
His father, the White Dragon Unit Captain, had also once dreamed of becoming the Clan Head.
However, above a running man, there were always those who flew.
The White Dragon Unit Captain, who had not been born with talent for the ages, had ultimately been eliminated in the Clan Head selection trial.
But he would be different.
At the very least, he would go higher than a unit captain.
He wanted to rise to the position of pavilion master , responsible for an entire hall, or perhaps even to the seat of the next Elder.
And the first sacrifice would be you.
[Thirteen Lightning Sword Thunders]
A sword art named so because its thirteen forms were said to be like thunderbolts.
In the Namgung Clan, which mainly used the principles of the heavy sword, it was one of the few sword arts that possessed the principle of speed.
This sword art had one defining trait.
It was perfectly suited against clumsy bastards.
Thrusts like flashes of lightning came surging in.
Everyone was predicting Namgung Jinjin’s victory.
The human unconscious was usually like that.
It was human perception to find it difficult to believe in things it had never seen.
‘Father, are you watching?’
I do not know with what feelings you are watching this match.
Perhaps you may not even be looking this way at all.
After all, I have no fewer than six brothers and sisters who are expected to achieve far more than I am.
But at least I clearly remember the promise I made three months ago.
Namgung Yeon opened his eyes wide and grasped every movement of Namgung Jinjin as he thrust in like lightning.
First-rate.
The weight carried by that name was quite heavy, and it was proof that one had shouldered years worthy of recognition.
‘Genius or not, first-rate is not a realm just anyone can claim.’
So watch closely.
Watch the son who was at the very bottom make the bastards at the very top submit one by one.
At least in the eyes of you, the man called the Martial God, it should not be lacking.
For now, shall I start lightly with the clan’s basic sword art?
[Heavenly Wind Sword Art]
The sword of Namgung is like a fierce wind blowing from the sky.
To fill yourself to overflowing with that sky, first cleave the wind.
Namgung Yeon’s sword moved slowly, and with dazzling clarity.
***
CLACK—!
CLAAACK—!
Every time he thrust the wooden sword he had been issued, it felt as though he were sinking into a swamp.
Namgung Jinjin had felt this emotion countless times before.
It had been when he sparred with the direct line of Namgung Mu, the Clan Head.
It was astonishing.
Every sword path was blocked, and no matter which direction he struck, he could not break through.
His heart gradually sank into despair, and his body grew heavy, as though he had stepped into a mudflat.
What was even more despairing was his opponent’s eyes.
‘What is this? What the hell is this?’
Eyes that felt empty, as if nothing could be felt from them at all.
A hollow gleam, as though the center of a deep, round lake had been embedded there.
He was clearly watching Jinjin, yet it felt as though he were piercing through something beyond him.
That gaze was something he had never felt from anyone before.
Fear of the unknown began to seize his entire body.
Once his spirit broke, his body could only move more sluggishly.
“What are you doing-!”
If the voice he had heard countless times had not roared in his ears, he would have collapsed where he stood.
The White Dragon Unit Captain.
Namgung Jinjin’s father.
He had shouted with a face twisted like a savage demon.
All the hellish time he had spent until now flashed through Namgung Jinjin’s mind.
Time so harsh that his body remembered and moved on its own.
Severe reprimands engraved deep into his bones.
‘If you raise a child like that, in the end, he can do nothing on his own…….’
Namgung Yeon merely looked on indifferently as Namgung Jinjin moved convulsively, like a trained dog.
Love for one’s child.
There was probably no one here who could not understand that.
However, under the enormous discipline called the Namgung Clan, love was not something ordinary.
If they had no skill, they could not be loved.
At some point, the children must have become trapped in that compulsion and lived while whipping themselves onward.
It was also why Namgung Yeon himself had not entered the training center despite its existence.
‘That leash must be removed as soon as possible.’
True talent was something that manifested through one’s own exploration.
At least, that was what Namgung Yeon believed.
None of you are lacking, so to save this murim, you must break that mold at once and soar.
These people were not enemies.
They were Namgung’s precious family, talents who had to grow together.
Do not forget.
Our enemy is not within.
For that reason, even if the method was somewhat rough, there was a need to reform them decisively.
“Are you finished?”
“…….”
“Your basics are solid, but you have a habit of trying to do only exactly as you were taught.”
“What do you know-?”
“Perhaps I know more than you, at least. Otherwise, would I be this unruffled without even losing my breath?”
At those calm, sharply piercing words, Namgung Jinjin bit his lip.
He did not want to admit it.
A bastard who had only ever sat on a sickbed.
A bastard who had never once experienced harsh training-!
“What the hell do you know to run your mouth like that-?!”
Aaaaargh!
Namgung Jinjin, who had completely lost his reason, rushed in again.
His father, the White Dragon Unit Captain, shouted again, but he was immediately restrained.
“Unit Captain, one intervention is enough.”
“…….”
“Do not forget that this is a rule. It is not because of ill will.”
“Damn it!”
The White Dragon Unit Captain stormed from his seat and left, as if he could not bear to watch any longer.
Conversely, everyone who was wary of the Clan Head or connected to him watched this match with astonished eyes.
Since the commotion was so great, attention naturally flowed there.
To the place where Namgung Yeon and Namgung Jinjin’s match was taking place.
‘I clearly heard he had severed meridians…….’
‘I truly cannot tell what is going on. He should have had no time at all to train in martial arts.’
‘He understands sword forms better than anyone. His understanding of martial arts is extraordinary.’
Those were the feelings of the Namgung Clan’s masters as they watched Namgung Yeon.
They knew as well.
They knew that the young child had received spending money, gone outside, and caused various incidents out there.
That was why they found it even harder to understand.
“Clan Head, you must be pleased. It must feel as though you have discovered another gem.”
“…….”
“Clan Head?”
“Ah. My apologies, Father-in-law.”
And gathered here were not only the relatives of the Namgung Clan, but also elders of the Sichuan Tang Clan, the Clan Head’s relatives by marriage.
The distance from Sichuan to Anhui was truly long, but how could they miss such an auspicious occasion?
The Retired Clan Head of the Sichuan Tang Clan had also wanted to see his lovely daughter after so long.
[Tang Yeonho] murmured in admiration.
They said the fourth child had no martial talent at all, but was this not pure nonsense?
He chuckled.
“Congratulations. Truly remarkable. I can see how much he must have suffered all this time.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Those bones and muscles, those movements. Those are not forms that come from a day or two of cultivation.”
“…….”
Namgung Mu stared silently at Namgung Yeon, who was toying with the son of the White Dragon Unit Captain.
Objectively speaking, his ability was still at the level where one sword stroke would take his head.
A level that could simply be crushed with overwhelming internal energy.
But the problem was the length of time.
‘I cannot believe it.’
Three months ago.
Namgung Mu had thought the boy did not know what it meant to become a martial artist.
He had thought the boy did not know how heavy the word first-rate truly was.
That was why he had spoken so carelessly.
A childish game by a child who had never once held a sword.
That was all he had thought it was.
But look.
The sight of him knowing and enduring that weight flashed past like an illusion.
Even without seeing it, it was obvious how harshly he must have driven himself.
First-rate.
So he had taken the weight of the words I carelessly threw at him that seriously.
‘This is enough to make me ashamed.’
He forced down the smile trying to bloom on his face.
Because before he was a father, he was the Clan Head, he had to keep every person in his eyes.
At least this much was certain.
Namgung Yeon, who had been considered the weakest, was also fully qualified.
What will you take from me?
I gave each of your brothers and sisters one thing they wanted as well.
Fairly, to those who proved their qualifications.
That was the support he could give as a father, not as the Clan Head.
***
A first-rate warrior.
To some, it was a realm referring to the finest among swordsmen.
To others, it was a term for the realm where one began to surpass human strength.
What they meant differed, but there was one thing that was certain.
It was a realm that could never be reached through ordinary effort.
To bear the title of first-rate, one had to survive fiercely among countless people strewn everywhere and prove one’s worth.
One who could make every martial artist nod in acknowledgement.
One who could perform his entrusted duty splendidly no matter where he was placed.
To a murim person, that was what first-rate meant.
“A first-rate master……? You, you bastard?”
“Why, am I not allowed?”
Namgung Yeon stood with proud composure before Namgung Jinjin, whose entire body was drenched.
Namgung Jinjin looked up at Namgung Yeon in disbelief.
He had tried attacking while disregarding defense, but not once had he reached him.
Namgung Yeon’s movements, once the chains were removed, were like a snake’s, and by a hair’s breadth, he slipped aside from or blocked every attack.
A snake.
No, this must have been what a flood dragon was like in its youth.
Unable to admit that, Namgung Jinjin had merely swung attacks that had now gone limp.
Namgung Yeon no longer let his attacks slide away.
BANG—!
With a brutal sound, Namgung Jinjin’s wooden sword spun round and round into the sky.
The wooden sword rolling carelessly at his feet seemed to prove the reality of Namgung Jinjin’s situation.
The sword held beneath his throat was still humming, unable to overcome the force of the violent impact.
“Do you want to become stronger?”
“…….”
“Then you’ll have to follow what I say carefully.”
Namgung Yeon smiled very faintly.
You are fortunate, rather.
Meeting a group leader like me is a fortuitous encounter.
“……I lost.”
“I will have the next match immediately, Instructor.”
Namgung Yeon spoke without delay.
The instructor turned his head and looked at the martial contest elsewhere.
That one had just ended as well, so they could begin at once.
Someone might say it was unfair to fight consecutive matches without even a break.
However, on the battlefield, an enemy did not wait for a tired martial artist to rest.
The instructor jotted something down, then nodded.
“Good. We will begin the next match immediately.”
“Phew……. What, Namgung Jinjin lost?”
His next opponent was the one who had defeated Namgung Geonho.
He, too, was one of Namgung Jin’s gang.
“There is no time, so I will end this quickly.”
“Quickly? What a joke. And Namgung Jinjin, you dumbass, you’re lying there because you couldn’t even beat that thing?”
So said the member of Namgung Jin’s gang as he came up.
The child, whose name was not even worth remembering, just like that-.
“……Huh?”
In a single exchange, he failed to stop the sword from coming forward with a sharp jab to his Adam’s apple.